Chapter 4
Zach
When the limo pulled up out front, I looked out the window, staring at the dry cleaners with its open sign on. To the right of the shop was a bright red door that led up to this girl’s loft apartment. I took a deep breath, realizing I was in Brooklyn, and stepped out of the car, half smiling at the kids playing on the corner.
I didn’t come to Brooklyn very often, and if I did, it was for some kind of business arrangement. I walked through the door and up a tall flight of stairs to the landing at the top. On the left was a dingy wooden door that I assumed was the office to the dry cleaners. On the right was Madison’s door, and above the peep hole was a sign that read “Artists Are Visionaries.” I knocked three times and crossed my hands in front of me as I heard footsteps approaching. As the door opened, I stared down at a short, vaguely familiar girl wearing spandex pants and a sweater, sipping a glass of wine.
“Hey,” she said, smiling. “Come on in.”
“Thanks,” I replied.
“I’m Charlotte,” she said, sticking out her hand. “We’ve met before, but it was years ago at Hudson’s graduation party.”
“Yes,” I said, realizing who she was. “You were just getting ready to go to NYU, for art. I think I remember.”
“Yep,” she responded. “That was me. Make yourself comfortable. I’m going to go grab Madison.”
I looked around the space, surprised at how huge it was. I didn’t expect the Brooklyn loft to be half the size of my penthouse, but the open space and high ceilings seemed like kind of a waste. There were no walls to the place, and the girls had strung up fabric to create the illusion of separate rooms. Interesting. I never could understand why anyone living outside of Manhattan, no matter their age, lived like college kids. Though I had to admit the large pieces of fabric were pretty clever, and it created a real eclectic feeling in the space. I heard the girls whispering near the back and stopped as an absolutely gorgeous girl walked from the bathroom and out into the space. Her hair was long and dark, and her eyes were a radiant green. Her body was fit and curvy, and I couldn’t help but stare at her hips as she walked toward me.
“Hi,” she said, shaking my hand. “I’m Madison.”
“Nice to meet you, Madison. I’m Zach.” I felt an almost electric sensation as our hands touched each other. Must be the static in the room from all the fabric.
I had to admit this girl was sexy as hell, and her dress was almost too much to take. It sat on the edges of her shoulders, revealing her soft skin and a slight bit of cleavage. It hugged every one of her curves perfectly and fell in a straight line down to her calves. She stood with her legs crossed at the ankles, her strappy four-inch heels revealing her perfectly painted pink toes. As she turned, I held my breath as her dress revealed a back that was completely see through, all the way down to the arch in her lower back. This little virgin was hotter than any of the girls I had been with recently, and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on her body and my cock inside of her.
“Well, are you ready to go?” I had to pull myself out of the trance of her body, or we would be late.
She shook her head and smiled at Charlotte before walking past me and out the door. I watched her as she carefully walked down the steps, her ass bouncing as she made her way to the front door. She paused as I moved ahead of her and opened the door, allowing her to step down and onto the sidewalk. She looked at the limo nervously, and I chuckled under my breath. The driver opened the door, and I held her clutch as she gracefully got in and scooted over to make room for me. I didn’t want to be too forward right off the bat so I kept a bit of distance between us in the seat. She looked nervous so I poured her a glass of champagne as we made our way back to Manhattan.
“So, what are our plans tonight?”
As she sipped her champagne, I stared at her wet sticky lips, wondering what her lip gloss tasted like.
“We are going to a cocktail party that my company is throwing,” I responded. “We throw these things from time to time for our clients.”
“You own a company?”
“I do. I am one of the owners of Fully Cased, with Charlotte’s cousin, Hudson.” I was surprised she didn’t know anything about me.
“Oh,” she said as she put the pieces together. “That makes sense.”
“Sorry, I don’t usually do the blind date thing.” I chuckled, trying to make her feel comfortable.
“This would be my first one.” She smiled, relaxing her shoulders. “It’s weird, but I’m glad to be here with you.”
I felt a tingle in my stomach and heat in my pants as I watched her cross her legs, revealing just a bit of her thigh. I looked away before she could notice me staring and smiled, seeing that we were pulling up in front of the building. They had done an amazing job with the lighting, and it looked like we were walking into a Hollywood premiere.
The driver opened the door, and I climbed out, reaching my hand down and helping Madison onto the curb. She straightened her skirt and looked at the building with wide eyes. She was innocent, but at the same time, I could tell there was a bit of sass hiding under the nerves. I wanted to get her a cocktail and get her comfortable so she would let loose a bit and show me her personality. And maybe a little more.
As we entered the party, she seemed to lighten up a bit, smiling and saying hello to everyone that we passed. These things were always a bit annoying at first, since I had to shake about a thousand people’s hands before finally being able to relax. I watched Madison talk and laugh with the clients and employees of the company, introducing herself with ease and breaking into the conversation without thought. She was bright and shining, and I was surprised how well a girl from Brooklyn fit in with the rich and snobby of Manhattan and beyond. It was almost as if she were used to dealing with these types of people.
I grabbed two glasses of champagne, and we finally sat down at a table near the back. She set her purse down and smiled as she sipped her bubbly. Her eyes glimmered under the low lights of the party, and all I wanted to do was reach over and rub my hand up her leg and under her skirt. Madison tossed her light brown hair over her shoulder and looked out at the crowd.
“What do you do for a living?” I was curious, which was unlike me.
“Oh, I work for a gallery in Brooklyn,” she replied. “I hang art for shows, and then I mill around while the artist explains their work, helping the clients if they wish to purchase something.”
“That makes sense, then,” I said, smiling. “You are so good with talking to people. Most of the time, I don’t even feel comfortable, and I was born and raised in this type of atmosphere. Did you grow up in the city?”
“I did,” she said, swallowing her champagne. “I grew up in Brooklyn actually, though my mother has since moved to the Greek District to get out of downtown.”
“Born and raised in New York, I like that,” I replied. “It’s hard sometimes for people to understand us. We are a special breed of person.”
“I hear that,” she said, holding up her glass. “Though I have a sneaking suspicion our childhoods were much different.”
“Maybe,” I said, shrugging my shoulders. “Money doesn’t make you who you are, though. Not insinuating you were poor.”
“Of course not,” she said, shaking her head. “My father and my mother were both comfortable, but not rich by any means.”
“Hey, you two,” Hudson said as he walked up, a stunning blonde in a red dress on his arm. “Madison, it’s been a long time.”
“It has,” she said, standing and hugging Hudson.
“You two have met?”
“Yeah,” she said, sipping her drink. “It was forever ago. I think I was a freshman in college.”
“Yep, it was that Christmas party at my uncle and aunt’s house in the country,” he said, pointing at her.
“I had just started at NYU, and Charlotte was my roomie. I hated having to choose between my mother and father for the holidays so she took me to her parents’ house.” She smiled at me. “It was really beautiful.”
“You guys have fun. We are going to go hit the bar.” Hudson winked at me. That ultimately meant he was going to go fuck her in his office upstairs. “It was good seeing you, Madison.”
After they had walked away, I looked back at Madison, wondering what she was thinking about. She looked happy and excited with all the motion of the people around us. However, at the same time, she seemed perfectly content with sitting here in our own little bubble. While the largest part of me wanted to be fucking her on my office couch, I didn’t mind sitting here and getting to know her. She was friendly and laughed at my stupid jokes, something I hadn’t encountered in a long time.
“So, your parents,” I said. “They are divorced, I’m assuming? I’m sorry if that is too forward.” I realized I was delving into her personal life.
“No, it’s fine,” she said, waving her hand. “They divorced when I was young. I spent a lot of time with both of them. I am still close with everyone, including my stepmother. It’s just complicated when they don’t get along. How about you?”
“My parents are divorced, though it’s very amicable now,” I replied. “My mother left my father for another man, my now stepfather, when I was very young.”
“That must have been hard,” she said, genuinely concerned.
“I had plenty to keep me occupied,” I said, shifting the subject. “After this, would you like to go for a walk?”
“That would be nice,” she said, laying her hand on mine.
Heat surged through me, and I couldn’t help but feel that electricity between our skin. I wondered if her blushed cheeks were from the champagne or that same feeling. We sat at that table for the rest of the evening, just talking and laughing. I pointed out different clients and tried to explain the products that they ordered and why people would want something like what we sold. She listened intently, as if she was genuinely interested in everything I had to say. Usually, the women I picked up didn’t pay any attention past the fact that I owned a billion-dollar company, which was normally fine, since it was just filler until I could get them alone. Not with Madison, though. I knew if I was going to seduce her, it would take more than a flash of my handsome smile and a nod toward the bathroom.
By the time the event began to wind down, Madison and I had scooted closer to each other, still talking about life and laughing at the drunk people on the dance floor. When I made the move to stand up, I realized I had put my hand on her thigh without even thinking. It was warm and strong, and I saw a small smile curve at the edge of her lips. She liked my hand there, and I had to admit, it wasn’t the only place on my mind.